They
by Fox Moonshadow
Summary: (Halloween Fic) *CRACK* Ace fell back when something suddenly slammed against the door, a large crack appearing down the middle. They were almost in.
1. CRACK

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Ace whimpered softly, ducking his head and covering his ears. He could still hear the growling as _They_ clawed at the door. Sea-stone handcuffs dug painfully into his wrists, sapping his energy and cutting off his flames. He could only curl into a tight ball and hope _They_ got bored soon and left. Ace yelped when the ship suddenly trembled and _They_ cried out. After a few seconds of silence Ace slowly lifted his head, listening. Were _They_ gone?

*CRACK* Ace fell back when something suddenly slammed against the door, a large crack appearing down the middle. _They_ were almost in. Ace looked around desperately for anything that could be used as a weapon before, seeing nothing, crawling into the far corner and curling up again, back to the door and eyes squeezed shut so he wouldn't have to see when _They_ broke through. Three more loud cracks pierced the air before the door burst apart. Ace couldn't stop the weak sobs escaping his throat as he hunched down as small as he could. When strong arms suddenly wrapped around Ace and pulled him from his corner something snapped. Ace screamed as he lashed out, his elbow catching his attacker's gut and making it release him. Turning, Ace charged forward into his attacker, catching it in the stomach with his shoulder and knocking it to the ground.

He was sure there must be more, _They_ always hunted in packs, but the only thing he could hear was his own blood pounding in his ears even as his vision started going dark. He yelped when something large wrapped around his middle and pulled him up, kicking out but hitting nothing. He thrashed uselessly as whatever had grabbed him crushed him against a firm wall, smothering him. Another scream tore from his throat before he went limp, closing his eyes and crying openly now, waiting for whatever had caught him to finish him off. Seconds became minutes, Ace's heart slowly settling to a more normal beat as his tears slowed. Soft noise filtered down from somewhere overheard. Frowning, Ace slowly opened his eyes and looked up.

"Easy now. You're okay." Marco murmured softly, looking down from his perch on Whitebeard's shoulder. Ace blinked, glancing around. He was in the hall now, just outside the closet he'd been hiding in moments ago, Whitebeard holding him firmly against his scared chest. Ace was startled to realize it was Whitebeard's heart he could hear now, rather than his own. "You gave us a real scare, thought we'd found you to late. Guess we must've scared you too, huh. Sorry about that. If you've calmed down we can try to get those cuffs off you now, or at least break the chain. Looks like your wrists are bleeding a bit, we'll need to take care of that. Don't want those things smelling it." Marco kept his voice and expression as calm as possible given the circumstances as he climbed down Whitebeard's arm to get a closer look at Ace. "You calm now?" Ace nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. Whitebeard smiled and loosened his grip on Ace so his youngest son could sit in his hand rather than be squished against his chest.

Ace was still trembling pretty badly and leaned heavily against Whitebeard's chest, breath still somewhat shallow but at least he was no longer hyperventilating, while Marco tried to pick the locks on his handcuffs. No one mentioned that it was usually Haruta or Izo who took care of any locks, not wanting to think of the fate met by the other two commanders. Marco smiled at the soft click as the handcuffs popped open, pulling them off Ace's wrists and examining the cut skin of his right wrist for a moment before leaning down and licking it. "Ah, hey!" Ace yelped, jerking his hand back.

"Easy. We need to clean it somehow." Marco said, grimacing as he swallowed the bit of blood he'd gotten. "If those things smell blood it'll through them into a frenzy. That happens and we're all dead." Ace gulped, nodding and holding his arm out again and hiding his face against Whitebeard's chest. Marco carefully licked the wound clean and covered it with a strip of cloth from his sash before doing the same with the other wrist. "There, all done. We'd better find some cover now, before those things come back." Ace didn't respond except to pull his arms close to his chest, curling closer to Whitebeard. Marco sighed before climbing back to Whitebeards shoulder, double-checking the bandages wrapped around Whitebeard's throat as he did. "Let's get out of here, Pops." Whitebeard nodded and stood, covering Ace with his free hand as he walked.

END

Was originally supposed to be a vampire invasion thing with Ace and Marco the only survivors and Ace waking up at the end to it all being a horrible nightmare then Marco hugging him and being a good big brother until the very last bit had Marco sinking his fangs in Ace's neck, somehow turned into a High School of the Dead style zombie apocalypse thing. I'm not entirely sure how that happened. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. Probably won't continue unless the plot bunnies bite.


	2. End

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Marco growled, sending a rush of blue flames back at the horde following him while clutching the small bag of food he'd found. He took a deep breath, forcing back the tears that wanted to fall as he recognized the warped forms of Thatch, Rakuyo, and Kingdew among the attacking mass. "I'm sorry." He whispered, sending out a stronger blaze. The attackers roared angrily but backed away from the fire, giving Marco the time he needed to rush out the door and transform, bag of food secured in his talons as he flew around the ship to the porthole in Whitebeard's room, pecking at the glass until Ace opened the window and let him in. "We've got a problem. The kitchen's empty and the route to the storerooms is full of those things. I got a couple scraps but it won't last long."

"You did your best." Ace said, taking the bag and looking inside. He frowned, doing some quick math in his head. "I can wait a bit longer so long as I don't use my powers."

"Ace, no. You've already skipped three meals. Even not using your power, that's to much." Marco said. "I'm your big brother, it's my job to provide for you."

"You won't provide anything if you don't have the energy to move." Ace countered, emptying the bag out onto the small table beside Whitebeard's bed. Four oranges and a single bottle of water rolled out. He looked up at Whitebeard, frowning at the stained bandages around his throat and arms. The man spent most of his time asleep now, conserving his strength and letting his injuries heal. " You and Pop's need this more. If Pop's asked I already ate my share." Marco sighed, dropping his gaze but nodding. Shame filled his chest, he hated lying to their father but both knew Whitebeard wouldn't hesitate to give Ace his share. He needed all the food and rest he could get.

"I'll going out again later, see if the path to the storerooms clears up a bit. At least take the water." Ace nodded, grabbing the bottle before climbing onto Whitebeard's bed and curling against the older man to get some sleep. Marco sighed again, peeling one of the orange with a pocket knife. One would be enough, Whitebeard needed the rest.

LINEBREAK

Ace looked around, dazed. He could feel fresh air on his skin and something soft under him, looking down he saw Marco in his phoenix form carrying him. "Marco? What's going on?" He asked weakly, fingers curling around the blue feathers. Marco looked back at him over his shoulder, tears flowing down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Ace, _They_ followed me back. I thought I'd lost _Them_." Marco said, turning back to the ocean. "I don't know how long I can stay airborne. I'll have to find a place to land soon."

"What about Pops?" Ace asked, sitting up and looking around again. He yelped when he heard what sounded like an explosion behind him, turning to see the Moby Dick tearing apart as a quiet sob escaped Marco.

"He ordered me to get you to safety."

"No! No, go back! We have to save him. Marco!" Ace yelled, adrenaline feeling his veins. Marco just lowered his head shamefully and kept flying away from the ship that had been his home for so many years. "Marco, turn back! We can't leave Pops! He'll die!"

"I'm sorry." Marco said weakly. "I have my orders. Pops told me to get you away. Then…."

"Then what, Marco?" Ace asked, voice cracking as tears gathered in his eyes.

"I've been infected. I'll fight it as long as I can, but once you're safe I have to die." Ace gasped, shaking his head.

"No, Marco, please." Ace whispered, burying his face in Marco's feathers. "Don't leave me alone."

"I'm sorry." Marco said, shuddering. He could feel his strength waning as he flew and knew he wouldn't make it to land. Sighing, he glided down to a bit of flotsam that had been blown from the ship when Whitebeard sank it, stumbling when he landed. "That's as far as I can go. I'm sorry Ace, you're on you own from here." With that Marco shifted back to his human form and stepped off the wreckage.

"No! Marco!" Ace yelled, plunging his arm into the water to grab Marco. He was to late, Marco slipping out of reach beneath the wave while Ace could only watch. "Marco." Shifting away from the edge, Ace lay down, crying openly for his father and all his brothers and sisters. He didn't see the clawed hand grip the side of his raft, only noticing when the creature that was once Namur grabbing his ankle. Ace could only scream as he was pulled into the water.

LINEBREAK

Ace jerked up and a scream, looking around desperately. He was sitting in his bed, safe in his bedroom aboard the Moby Dick. "A dream?" He whispered, laughing as relief coursed through him. "Only a bad dream." A knock on the door drew his attention and the door slowly opened, Marco standing there looking concerned.

"You okay?" He asked, looking around the room. "Nightmare?" Ace nodded, still panting slightly. Marco chuckled at that, walking into the room and closing the door behind him. "Must've been a bad one. I heard you clear from my room. Your lucky Jozu's such a deep sleeper."

"Yea. Probably to much candy yesterday." Ace said, flopping back on his bed. "Sorry to wake you."

"It's no problem, though I do reserve rights to tease you about this for at least three months." Marco said, sitting down next to Ace. "You wanna talk about it?" Ace just shrugged, rolling onto his side.

"It was nothing special, really. Just your typical zombie nightmare." He said, wrapping an arm around Marco's waist and hiding his face against the older man's leg. Marco 'hm'd and ran his fingers through Ace's hair. He could feel the younger trembling.

"You want me to stay?" Ace nodded but didn't say anything. Marco chuckled and stood up, climbing into the bed in front of Ace and wrapping an arm around him. "Get some sleep. I'll make sure no zombies get in. Promise." Ace nodded again, snuggling close and closing his eyes as Marco placed a soft kiss on his forehead. Marco waited until he was sure Ace was asleep before pushing himself up slightly and smirking down at him. "No zombies are getting my baby brother." Moonlight filtering in through the porthole showed red eyes as Marco lowered his head and slipped his fangs into Ace's neck, drawing a soft grunt from the sleeping boy.

END

Finally got the ending I wanted. Watch out for vampires and have a Happy Halloween.


End file.
